Background
A large manufacturer of flooring materials makes a considerable effort toward environmentally friendly products, using recycled and biodegradable materials in its products whenever possible. While their process was targeting environmental sustainability, it was becoming very obvious that it was not ergonomically sustainable.
The Problem
“Over the years we had made some minor tweaks to our process, but our work force is aging, we’ve got a lot of women on the floor, and we realized they were getting too worn down throughout the work day,” said the Vice President of Operations. “We were seeing injury reports pile up that had lots of sprains of the wrists and shoulders. We realized that we needed a change.“
The Solution
The company chose a freestanding Gorbel Pivot Pro® articulating jib crane with a 150 pound capacity, 9‐ foot height under boom and 12‐foot span. The Pivot Pro® was paired with a Vaculex vacuum lifter. The articulating arm of the Pivot Pro® allowed one worker to use one product to unload two conveyor lines, while reaching around two building columns between the two conveyors.